Blogs from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, Asia

We flew from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur in the peninsular part of Malaysia. After getting used the the "coolish" cloudy skies of Indonesia it took some getting used to the sun. My tan from Australia seems to be taking good care of me and I find I'm not even tanning much more and just takin my usual precautions to cover with my sarong and stay out of the sun. It's always nice to get your hit of vitamin D. We spent a few days in KL, walking around, eating good Indian food, visiting the shops in Little China and Little India, visiting the eleven story shopping mall with an amusement park inside and going to the Batu caves. I'd say the last part was my highlight. The caves are a Hindu place of worship and have ... read more

After having a great night’s sleep we were up and had breakfast and Stu went down to the pool with Danika and Zavanna while I stayed here so Frankie could have a sleep after breakfast. The pool is a fairly decent size and the girls even got some laps in. The apartment we are staying in was built in 2000 so is only 12 years old. The inside is absolutely lovely with everything a family like us could need. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, (not that we cook on holidays – would rather enjoy and try the foods the area has to offer ;) ) balcony overlooking the pool area as well as out to sea (that won’t be for much longer though as there is another hotel and shopping mall being built right ... read more

When planning our trip, we were keen to do something other than pass through the places we visited. Looking for volunteering opportunities abroad can be a daunting prospect. Thankfully, Ben’s mum is still in contact with “Borneo Anne” Keyworth, who set up a children’s home in Kota Kinabalu (the capital of the Malaysian state of Sabah), almost 25 years ago. Bukit Harapan (Hill of Hope) is home to 44 children and young adults who’ve suffered abandonment, neglect or abuse. Many have physical or mental impairments. But all are loved and cared for by Anne, her daughter Audra with husband Jerry, and their dedicated multi-talented team. There we arrived, not knowing quite what to expect. Certainly, we didn’t anticipate gaining a whole new family, and extending our stay to well over a month. As soon as we ... read more

I left home at 3am Sunday morning prepared for a full day of travel. Air Asia can never be described as luxurious travel, but hey, I arrived safely and on time and that's all that counts really. I do think I have spent half my life at KL's budget airline airport, but on the upside, at least I know it like the back of my hand now. I arrived in KK (Kota Kinabalu) around 7.15pm Sunday night. It was pitch black outside which surprised me. I was late for the group meeting so I dumped my bag and quickly met up with my travel companions Katie, Heather and Soffia and our travel guide George for a quick meeting before having dinner at a Thai restaurant on the waterfront called 'The Loft'. It was good feeling to ... read more

What a last night in the jungle... on top of all the usual creepy crawly noises we heard terrential rain and thunderstorms iwhich shook our cabin. to top things off and which really freaked me out, around 3am i heard loud thuds in our room followed by crunching of wrappers! i didnt have the guts to put the light on and check it out so woke up this morning after only 2 hours sleep to find that the cookie pack we left on the bed last night had been moved and was in the same postion but under the bed!! i dread to think what on earth was in our room last night but glad to have got through it! anyway this mornign was an early rise and before getting the afternoon bus back to Kota ... read more